Canada apologizes to Inuit communities for mass killing of sled dogs decades ago

FILE PHOTO: A Canadian flag flies in front of the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, March 22, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Wattie/File Photo

(Reuters) - The government of Canada on Saturday apologized to the Inuit of northern Quebec for the mass killing of sled dogs in the 1950s and 1960s, which devastated communities by depriving them of the ability to hunt and travel.

Federal Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Gary Anandasangaree travelled to Kangiqsujuaq in the Nunavik region to deliver the apology and promised C$45 million ($32.19 million) in compensation.